As much as the $4 trillion budget President Barack Obama sent to Congress Monday is a highly political document giving his allies things to rally around and his opponents proposals about which to grouse, the spending plan succeeds at putting two issues of irrefutable importance front and center — the nation's failure to address its crumbling infrastructure at home and the growing pile of profits held by U.S. firms abroad.

Chipping away at Obamacare is a top priority for the Republicans controlling both chambers of Congress, and Sen. Pat Toomey has a front-row seat for shaping some of those proposals.
Toomey, R-Pa., was named to lead the Senate Finance Committee's panel...

Lawyers who launched a fair-lending case in Baltimore against Wells Fargo that ended with a $175 million settlement three years ago had an effective weapon: a federal legal standard recognizing discrimination by effect as well as intent.
Housing...

Lacking the presidential bully pulpit but boasting the largest congressional majority in generations, ‎top Republicans accused President Obama of loading his State of the Union address with partisan priorities instead of demonstrating the leadership...

It was a typical winter morning on the Twitter feed of Eastern Shore television station WBOC: a stream of messages about snowfall and a reminder to download the station's weather app for the latest updates.
Then the Cyber Caliphate arrived. Just after...

U.S. travel and business with Cuba will get easier starting today.
Two U.S. government agencies issued initial regulations Thursday for President Barack Obama's more open policy announced Dec. 17, softening the effects of the 54-year-old U.S. embargo against the communist-led island.
The rules allow greater American travel to Cuba to encourage people-to-people exchanges and let U.S. citizens bring home small amounts of Cuban cigars after a ban of more than half a century.
They also allow exports...

Swiftly expanding trade ties with Cuba, the Obama administration opened the door to easier travel and a wide range of new export opportunities with the communist island starting Friday, punching the biggest hole to date in America's half-century-old embargo.
Less than a month after the Cold War foes agreed to end their enmity, the Commerce and Treasury departments unveiled new rules Thursday permitting U.S. citizens to visit Cuba without special permits.
Most U.S. travelers still will be required to...

The Obama administration is putting a large dent in the U.S. embargo against Cuba as of Friday, significantly loosening restrictions on American trade and investment.
The new rules also open up the communist island to greater American travel and allow U.S. citizens to start bringing home small amounts of Cuban cigars after more than a half-century ban.
Thursday's announcement of new Treasury and Commerce Department regulations are the next step in President Barack Obama's ambitious goal of re-...

One thing is absolutely clear in my mind: I am delighted that Alan Gross is free and back in the United States with his family.
The American contractor jailed for the last five years for taking satellite equipment to the small Jewish community in Cuba did not deserve the punishment he got, for what he did is not a crime in a civilized world.
How his freedom came about is another story. They say he was released for humanitarian reasons. But attached to his freedom came many unsavory agreements.
The...

It takes a lot to shake the jaded White House press corps. So when I walked into the briefing room last Thursday and a reporter friend greeted me with "Wow, this is a legacy day," when another reporter observed that Obama was ending his sixth year with a "thunderclap," and when Press Secretary Josh Earnest began his briefing by noting what a "historic day" it was at the White House, you knew something really big was up.
Which was true. In a dramatic appearance in the Cabinet Room, President Obama...

Bipartisan cheer for the release of a man with Maryland ties who was held in Cuba for more than five years quickly gave way to political rancor Wednesday that presaged coming battles over the dramatic new relationship President Barack Obama outlined with Havana.
One Republican senator vowed to block the confirmation of any nominee to serve as the U.S. ambassador to Cuba. Others debated whether Congress could bar funding for an embassy that White House officials said they want to establish in a matter of...